Kyrgyzstan Attracts Thousands of Medical Students from India and Pakistan

Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Science, Higher Education, and Innovation Nurlan Omurov has announced that up to 80-90 per cent of foreign students studying in Kyrgyzstan originate from distant countries such as India and Pakistan.

Most of these international students are enrolled in medical programs, reflecting Kyrgyzstan’s growing reputation as a destination for medical education, The Caspian Post reports per Kyrgyz media.

In a recent move, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to tuition fee regulations for paid educational services. Under the new rules, all universities-regardless of ownership-must charge foreign medical students no less than $3,000 per academic year.

Currently, about 222,000 students are enrolled across Kyrgyz universities, with approximately 35,000 to 37,000 being foreign nationals, Omurov said.

While the total number of university faculty was not specified, a 2024 review of Kyrgyzstan’s higher education system reported more than 15,000 academic staff members, including over 1,100 doctors of science and 12,000 candidates of science.

The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security is actively conducting audits within universities to identify corruption risks. As a result, students-including foreign nationals-who fail to attend classes or have outstanding academic debts are being expelled.